The Little Brown Stoneflies of the Taeniopterygidae Family (sometimescalled Little Black Stoneflies) and the Nemouridae family (sometimes calledForestflies) are very important to anglers during early season. These two families of stoneflies are very difficult to tell apart and that is why I have grouped them together. For the angler’s purposes, the main difference is the color. Some are brown and some look almost black but are really just a dark brown. Some have a red tint to them. They are all various shades of brown.

It would be almost impossible to identify any of these stoneflies in the field even down to the family level. Since the behavior of both families is very similar, the very minute physical differences in the two families make no difference to anglers. Technically, there is no Little Black Stonefly, only the Little Brown Stonefly. This can be confusing to anglers simply because many of the Little Brown Stoneflies look black.

As I have previously said, the stoneflies are one of the easiest of insects toimitate. The Little Brown Winter Stoneflies are no exception. Like all of them,they crawl out of the water to hatch. That means you only need to know how toimitate the nymphs and the female adults when they deposit their eggs.

Unlike the Little Winter Stoneflies of the Capniidae Family, or Snowfles as theyare called, these are plentiful and easy to find. The Nemouridae family of “Early Brown Stoneflies”, are small brown or dark brown almost black colored stoneflies. They are typically springtime emerging stoneflies. The Taeniopterygidae family consist of a group of medium sized, dark bodied stoneflies. Emergence times range from winter through early summer for most species. They usually hatch from noon until mid afternoon during winter and early spring days.